NBR trashes claims on social media, says no VAT imposed on remittance

The National Board of Revenue has brushed aside as rumours social media posts claiming the government has imposed Value Added Tax or VAT on the money sent by Bangladeshi expatriates.

It clarified in a media release on Wednesday that no such tax has been levied in the budget proposed by Finance Minister AMA Muhith for 2018-19 financial year.

It believes the posts aimed to discourage the expatriates from sending money through legal channels.

“This is utterly false and nothing but rumour. The NBR thinks the propaganda aims at stopping the flow of remittance through legal channels and encouraging the expatriates to use Hundi,” the release says.

Citing related laws, it says remittance is out of VAT’s purview because it is considered as money earned from export of service.

The board has asked the expatriates to send money through legal channels and to not pay heed to rumours.

Money sent by the expatriates contributes to 12 percent of Bangladesh's GDP

According to the Bangladesh Bank, the expatriates remitted nearly $13.6 billion in 11 months from July last year to May this year.

The figure is 17.5 percent more than the remittance sent during the same period last year.